Kanto Chronicles
by LightpoleBystander
Summary: Carmine has something to prove and it doesn't just involve becoming the Pokémon Master. A long journey awaits him, filled with growth, hilarity, awkward situations, sexual innuendo, and realism unknown to the Pokémon world. Can he overcome it all?
1. The Hesistant Beginning

"Do you dream of a life of adventure? Freedom? Do you have an everlasting love for Pokemon? Then now is your chance to make your dreams come true! This Saturday is the official start of the Pokemon League season, so stop by your local Pokemon Professor's lab and pick up your free starter Pokemon! This is a one day only event, so please come by early to ensure you receive a Pokemon."

Carmine groaned, his hand reaching out and fumbling around with the remote to shut off the TV.

"This advertisement dedicated in loving memory of Professor Samuel Oa-_CLICK_!"

"I guess I'm awake now." Carmine sighed, tossing his blanket off. He was already in a habit of staying up until the early morning; the last thing he wanted was being woken up before he got a full eight hours. After all, he was a growing boy, he needed his sleep.

Sluggishly walking down his stairs to the kitchen, Carmine was quickly greeted by his mother, "Hey honey, sit down, breakfast is almost ready." He wasn't sure, but Carmine had this sneaking suspicion that his mother was the one who turned his TV on every morning; slowly, but surely guaranteeing he would be roused from his sleep in time to eat.

******************

"So mom," Carmine began, halfway through a piece of toast, "Mikado is leaving today. He's getting his first Pokemon too."

"That's great dear," She replied, "Would you mind running to the store for me? I have a few things I need for dinner tonight."

Carmine sighed, knowing that another day was going to go by without a word in edgewise about his Pokemon training. No matter how hard he pushed it, his mom was a master of the cold shoulder.

After a quick shower, Carmine snagged the list from his mom and headed out.

Once outside, Carmine couldn't help but smile at the beautiful weather. It was that happy intermediary of winter and spring that let you wear t-shirts outside, but it wasn't hot enough to make you uncomfortable or cold enough to warrant a jacket. Aside from the autumn, this was Carmine's favorite weather; maybe today wouldn't be so bad.

Over the years, Pallet Town had grown significantly. Rather than a few homes, it now held twenty, plus the laboratory and a large Pokemart which doubled as a supermarket. It was a similar story for the rest of Kanto, ever since Team Rocket was disbanded; people had stopped living in fear and started…well, living again. Kanto flourished and everything was great, for awhile at least.

A nearby telephone pole had a flier plastered too it, much too large as it wrapped around and partly covered itself. A large face was portrayed on it, a handsome man of about forty-five, with the word WANTED printed above and GIOVANNI beneath. It had been years since Team Rocket had been single-handedly disbanded by Red, one of the greatest Pokemon trainers Kanto had ever seen. There was a scare of their resurgence three years later though, but it was again quelled by another young prodigy, though reports were never clear which of the three trainers involved was primarily responsible.

Much more recently, people in Rocket outfits have been causing havoc throughout Kanto. Though most shrugged it off as thugs trying to use Team Rocket's name, there were still those who thought Team Rocket was trying to make a comeback. Carmine knew the Rocket history well and he very much doubted a comeback any time soon.

_Ding, dong._

"Carmine!" A voice called out the moment Carmine stepped inside.

"Oh," He frowned, "Hey Mikado."

Mikado was the younger brother of Carmine's first girlfriend, Marigold. Unfortunately, their parents did not get along very well and ended up divorcing, with Marigold being taken to Johto with her father and Mikado remaining in Kanto with his mother. It hurt Carmine a lot, but brought Mikado closer; he was a few years younger and already looked up to Carmine like a big brother, so when his real sibling left, he got rather attached.

"Check it out!" Mikado shouted, pulling a Pokeball out of his pocket, "It's an Elekid!"

"That's…terrific." Carmine said, forcing a smile, walking past Mikado and picking items off the shelf. Mikado kept talking, unaware of Carmine trying to ignore him, going on about how excited he was to be leaving, something about running shoes, and then mentioned the possibility of Marigold coming to visit. Gritting his teeth, Carmine dropped his items on the counter and tapped his foot impatiently.

"So what do you think?" Mikado asked.

"About, _what_?" Carmine replied.

"Coming with me!"

Carmine's face went blank, "I _can't_ Mikado."

"What?" He scratched his head, "Why not? Your mom still won't let you leave?"

"No, Mikado." Carmine grabbed his bag full of items, dropping some money onto the counter, "No, she won't."

He stomped away, but as he reached the door turned around, "I guess I'll see you later...oh wait, no I won't."

As soon as the door shut behind him, the guilt set in. Carmine had no reason to be mad at Mikado, but he promised in his mind to make it up to him later. After all, the whole reason Mikado wanted to go on a journey was his fault; constantly talking about taking on the gyms, what kind of Pokemon they would raise, and typical crazy adventure shenanigans.

Drowning in memories, Carmine barely had time to notice the small Charmander wandering in front of him.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed, his eyes growing twice their normal size, "Where did you come from little fellow?"

"Ahem."

Carmine turned to see a shady man standing in the nearby alleyway, wearing a light brown trench coat and a fedora tipped down, shadowing his face.

"That." He coughed, deepening his voice, "Is my Charmander, son."

"Oh…" Carmine frowned.

"But," The man began, "If you fancy yourself a future trainer, I could be willing to let him go for as little as $300."

Carmine's head drooped, "I've been saving my allowance for weeks, but I only have fifty right now…"

The man put a hand on his chin, "Well, seeing as I can't take care of this Pokemon, I don't think it'd be too great of a loss to let him go for fifty."

"R-really?!" Carmine exclaimed, nearly jumping, while also quickly removing the money from his pocket and stuffing it into the stranger's hands in exchange for a Pokeball.

"Take good care of him kid."

"I will, I promise, I swear!"

And with that, Carmine took off running towards home. The man smiled, snickering, "I was just going to give it to you later, but..."

******************

"Are you crazy Carmine?!" He had never heard his mother so angry, "You're not going anywhere, especially with some creature a total stranger handed you off the street! If your father was here, it would be a different story; he could teach you everything you need to know and…" Carmine bit his tongue and gripped his Poké Ball tightly.

"Carmine…" She sighed, crossing her arms, realizing she might have gone a bit far, "You just can't do this. You aren't prepared."

"What do you mean I'm not prepared?!" Carmine shouted in disbelief, "You and dad went when you were younger than me!"

"The world was a different place Carmine; it's not safe out there. Something could happen to you, and by yourself? No, I-"

"NO!" He screamed, "NO! You and dad had your adventures; you had the time of your life and did all sorts of amazing things! And you know what?! I'm _sick _of sitting home and studying for professions I will never get, for jobs that I hate! I like Pokemon, I'm going to be a Pokemon Master and _you _are not going to stop me!" Before he finished, he had turned and begun to walk away. His mother opened her mouth to stop him, but realized it was of no use; she could, but he would hate her and probably just run away when she was sleeping.

"Carmine, wait!" He froze, looking over his shoulder as his mom disappeared into their home. After a few moments she returned, carrying his backpack and a Poké Ball. Attempting to hide the smile on his face with apathy, he looked down and held out his hand.

"Wait." She said sternly, holding the items back, "If you're going to go on this journey, you're going to do as I ask or I'll just use Psyduck to lock you in your room, understand?"

Sighing, Carmine nodded slowly.

"Good." She offered him his pack, "I put an extra pair of clothes in there, some food, and some money. It'll be enough to get you to Pewter City, but if you need any more, just call me, okay?"

Carmine nodded a bit more eagerly.

Taking a breath, she held up the Poké Ball, "This is my Politoed. He's been with me for a very long time and is a great Pokémon; powerful, loyal, and very friendly. If you ever get into trouble, let Politoed help you. When your own Pokémon are stronger you can send him back to me, but until then I don't want to see his little green face," She winked, "Got it?"

Carmine's arms were already around her and after mumbling, "Thanks mom" he was running off.

"D-don't forget to call me!" She yelled waving goodbye as Carmine disappeared into the wilderness.

Holding her hands over her heart, she wished Carmine luck.

After longingly staring into the distance for a bit, she smiled and went back inside.

"How," She begun as she closed the door, "Did I not know it was you?"

A chuckle came from the kitchen and a yellow flash darted into the hall.

"Hey Pikachu," She said, catching the yellow mouse in mid-jump and hugging him softly.

"PiKachupi!"

"You know, you could have called and said you were coming home," She said, walking to the kitchen, "I'm pretty sure Carmine would have liked to se- HEY! That was my lunch!"

The man sitting at the table grinned, tipping his hat forward over his eyes, "I missed you too."


	2. Breaking the Law

Carmine smiled with his eyes forward and Charmander trotting along at his side: this was it! He was on his own now and though it scared him a little, looking down and seeing Charmander looking happily back at him quickly eliminated that fear. Ever since he could remember, Carmine dreamed of going on his own Pokémon adventure, especially after hearing about his parent's for so long.

"Okay!" He declared, stopping suddenly, "We're starting our training, you ready Charmander?"

The small Pokémon looked up at him and hopped enthusiastically, "Char!"

Carmine quickly scanned their surroundings, but failed to notice anything other than plants and trees. Scratching his head, he looked down, "What do you think we should do Charmander? How does somebody normally find a Pokémon?"

"Charmander," It replied, obviously clueless. It was then that Carmine noticed the small stones littering the ground and a simple plan formulated in his head.

After gathering as many stones as he could carry in one hand, Carmine began systematically hurling them into the nearby bushes and trees, hoping to scare out any Pokémon hiding inside. The first few claimed nothing, though he did manage to chase away a flock of Pidgey that were resting in a tree. However, on his fifth stone an annoyed Rattata appeared and charged.

"I've got you now!" Carmine exclaimed, "Get him Charmander: use Ember!"

The small ball of fire sent the Rattata rolling and out of the fight fairly easily, but Carmine was ecstatic nonetheless.

"Yeah!" He cried, literally jumping for joy and hugged his partner, "Great job Charmander!"

"Char-char!"

"Let's see what else we can find around here."

Charmander looked back at Carmine with a dull expression when, according to Carmine's count, the fourteenth Rattata emerged, "Come on Charmander, get it!" He yelled with excitement as it charged. Charmander sighed as it slapped the rat away, immediately knocking it out cold. The Pokémon then sat down and crossed its little arms, "Char. Man. Der." Carmine shrugged, "Okay, if you're tired I guess we can just move on." He let out a soft, "Char" of approval before being returned.

Carmine yawned as he stepped into the Viridian City limits, he had been here a few times with his mother; thought it was mostly for shopping and he never had a real chance to explore. However, as he walked towards the Pokémon Center, he took a good look around and realized that, save for a few people here and there, the town was pretty desolate. In the past, Viridian City had been home to Team Rocket headquarters, Carmine couldn't blame people for being iffy about living in such a place.

"HOLD IT!" A voice shouted; Carmine turned as he heard a whistle. Approaching him quickly was a woman dressed in an official looking blue uniform with oddly green hair. Crossing his arms as she reached him, the woman exclaimed, still nearly shouting, "You!...do you own a Charmander?"

Carmine raised his eyebrow, and then nodded slowly, "My name is Officer Jenny and YOU are under arrest young man!"

Looking as if an Electrode just erupted in his face, Carmine sputtered and shouted back, "For what?!"

"The unnecessary fainting of multiple Pokémon without intent to capture." She replied, brandishing handcuffs.

Carmine took a step back, raising his hands defensively, "Whoa, whoa! Since when was that against the law?! How is my Pokémon supposed to gain experience if I don't battle him?!"

Jenny now raised her eyebrow towards him, "Your Pokémon is not going to gain much, if any experience battling Pokémon that much weaker than it in the first place, so why were you fainting them if you weren't going to capture them?"

"I...I..." Carmine gritted his teeth and then let out a heavy sigh, "I don't know."

"Uhm, excuse me, Officer Jenny?" A voice piped in from behind. Jenny turned and stepped aside, revealing a young man in purple cargo pants and a black tee.

"Oh!" Jenny saluted quickly, "Is there something you need, Mr. Oak?"

"No, I was just wondering if I could offer my help in any way."

Jenny turned to look at Carmine, who in turn looked to the boy for sympathy.

"No, I don't think I will require any help. I'm just hauling this no-gooder to the station for beating up helpless Pokém-"

"HEY!" Carmine shouted, cutting Jenny off, "I just started my journey, how was I supposed to know about that law? Isn't there some kind of three strike rule or warning system?!"

Jenny paused for a second, as if deep in thought, then perked up suddenly, "You're correct! With all the Team Rocket activity, we stopped giving breaks to people to try and curb other crimes so we could focus on stopping Team Rocket."

The boy forced a cough, as if he had something to say and Jenny paused for him to speak, "Officer, I don't believe this guy is bad or anything, I think he honestly didn't know."

Jenny nodded in agreement, "Alright, but no more beating up Pokémon unless they attack you first or if you intend to capture them, okay?" With that, Officer Jenny saluted the two boys and walked off spinning the handcuffs around her finger.

Carmine sighed in relief, then noticed the boy was still standing there, "Thanks a lot, you really saved my butt."

"No problem." He replied, smiling softly.

"My name's Carmine, by the way."

"Perry." The boy replied, shaking Carmine's hand, "Why were you fainting Pokémon anyway? Don't you know that weaker Pokémon stop giving yours experience when they get stronger? Just use your Pokédex."

Carmine scratched his head, "I don't have a Pokédex."

"That's too bad..." Perry said with a frown, but suddenly smiled as his eyes lit up, "I have an idea, follow me."

Perry led Carmine across Viridian City and wondered where he was being led, but didn't bother to ask: he sort of liked surprises. A few moments later the Viridian City Gym's shadow was looming over them, and Perry pulled the door open for him, "We're here."

Curiously, Carmine opened his mouth, but decided his questions could wait. He knew that Perry knew that he was a fresh trainer, and he also already knew Perry was pretty smart, so there was no way he was bringing him here to challenge the final Gym Leader already. Something fishy was definitely going on and he made sure to give Perry an inquisitive glance as he walked inside.

"It's about time you got back Perry, I nee-" The man smirked, running a hand through his spiky hair, "I wasn't aware you had any friends, Perry."

Perry rolled his eyes, "I just met him, this is Carmine; Carmine this is my dad."

"Nice to meet you." Carmine said, smiling slightly.

"Right…" He shook his head, "Anyway, Perry, I need your help with something."

"The computer again?" Perry asked, following his dad out of the room, motioning for Carmine to follow.

"Yeah, that di…guy, sent me another email, and now every time I turn on the sound I hear, well, you'll see."

After walking down a short hallway, they entered a messy room with files and papers everywhere, four shelves, and a desk with a computer. Perry sat down at the computer and powered it on, "Okay, let's see what the pro-"

"IT'S BLUE OAK! BLUE OAK! BLUE MOTHER FUCKING OAK!"

Perry quickly turned off the sound as pictures of his father's head started popping up all over the computer screen.

"Uhm…" Perry scratched his head, "I'll see what I can do dad."

"Alright, you kids have fun." Blue ruffled Perry's hair and walked out.

As soon as the footsteps faded Carmine grabbed Perry's chair and spun him around, "You didn't tell me who your dad was Perry."

Perry shook his head, "He's not like you think Carmine, he's…kind of a jerk."

"Still!" Carmine said, throwing up his hands, "You're related to Professor Oak too! What else haven't you told me?!"

Perry chuckled, "The reason I brought you here?"

"Oh yeah," Carmine nodded, "Why is that?"

Perry got up and walked over to the far left shelf, "It should be over here somewhere."

After opening and closing several boxes, then moving to the opposite side of the room, Perry shouted, "Eureka!"

"Well? Don't leave me hanging."

Perry turned, sliding his hands behind his back, "Carmine, do you love Pokemon?"

"Obviously," He replied, hanging his head, "Come on!"

"No," Perry said firmly, "Do you really love Pokemon?"

"Perry, you can ask me a hundred times and the answer will always be the same, yes, I do."

Perry nodded, "Then you can have this." He revealed his hand, holding a rectangular red device.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yep," Perry answered, "It's a Pokédex and I want you to have it as a commemoration of our first meeting and friendship."

Carmine took the device slowly, "Are you sure this is okay?"

Perry nodded, "Yeah, we have a ton of them, but this one isn't any use since its blank. I figure it'd be more fun for you to fill out one then to use one that's already been filled. Make your own memories, you know?"

"You're a sentimental kinda guy, aren't you?" Carmine said, pushing Perry slightly, "Thanks, this is awesome."

"However, I do have one condition…"

"What's that?"

"I want to come with you."

"Really?" Carmine replied in surprise, "I don't really have a choice do I?"

Perry smiled, "Nope!"

"No." Blue stated firmly, "I need you here Perry; this research isn't going to conduct itself."

"I don't want to be a researcher, I want to be a trainer."

"You're just going to have to wait then, aren't you? You had your chance five years ago. You had your chance four years ago, three years ago; and where are you? Oh, you're still here." Blue shook his head, "No. You're not going anywhere."

Perry bit his tongue and looked down, whispering, "Go, Carmine…just go."

"Sorry Perry…" He replied, leaving the gym in awkward silence.

Blue moved silently up the stairs to Perry's room, knocking softly on the door before opening it, "Hey, Perry, I'm sorry about earlier-" but stopped when he realized there was nobody in the room. He continued inside and saw a note sitting on Perry's bed, 'Dear Dad, I'm going with Carmine whether you like it or not and we'll be back to defeat you and take that badge. Smell ya later! -Perry' Laughing softly, Blue wiped his eyes, which had become suspiciously moist.

"Good luck…"


	3. This Bugs Me

Carmine yawned, stretching and cracking his neck. It had taken him far longer then he originally thought to reach the Route 2 rest house; he had been hoping to be in Pewter City by now. However, just looking at the door leading to Viridian Forest made him shudder -the dark, the bugs- what type of person would dare traverse that maze without light? He suddenly found himself feeling a bit of respect for the young bug catchers he had seen heading into the forest moments ago.

"Hey."A familiar voice said.

"Perry?" He questioned, turning around to a friendly face.

"Hey." Perry repeated, smiling.

"Perry!" Carmine jumped up from his sofa-turned-bed. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Well." He looked down frowning. "I ran away."

Carmine opened his mouth, but Perry burst into speech, "I was sick of being stuck in Viridian City, sick of being forced into a profession I hated, sick of not having any control over my life! I had to leave, I had to Carmine."

Carmine nodded, "You don't need to explain yourself to me Perry. I didn't tell you this, but I ran away too." He smirked. "Yep, got myself a Pokémon-" motioning away from him, "-and took off."

Perry chuckled, "Oh!" He swung his backpack off, "That reminds me." He quickly unzipped one of the many pockets and dug deep; moments later removing five Poké Balls. "A present for you."

"Really? Thanks!" Carmine eagerly took the balls, shoving them into his own pack.

"Now, if it's all the same to you," Perry hopped up onto the adjacent couch, "I think it's time for bed."

Carmine nodded, "Agreed, see you in the morning."

It didn't take long for Carmine to find dreamland. A hazy mess of a world, blurry and disorienting, but calming in the strangest way. He couldn't make out much, but there was a hand grasping his, leading him further into the fuzzy chaos. Carmine squeezed gently, noticing how soft the hand was, but was unable to see it. A female voice called to him; his mother? No, she sounded much younger. What was she saying? He strained his ears, but could only make out one word, "Help."

The next day came as swiftly as sleep the night before, Carmine rising several minutes after Perry, a half hour past noon. Carmine would typically complain about waking up so late, but with Viridian Forest as the next destination, he was okay with keeping quiet. Before leaving the rest house, Carmine purchased some sandwiches from a vendor that had setup earlier that morning. After making sure they were ready, Carmine took his first step into the forest.

"Row?"

Carmine looked at Perry and held a finger to his lips, pointing at the wild Spearow with his free hand. They had made an agreement earlier that Carmine would catch the first Pokémon, Perry would catch the next, and they would rotate as such throughout their travel.

Charmander inched forward and then lunged, charging through the grass towards the small bird. The Spearow had little time to react; it hopped to gain flight, but was immediately brought back to the ground as Charmander landed on it, simultaneously lighting it on fire. Carmine tossed a Poké Ball at it and Charmander hopped off its victim as it was engulfed in red light. A few anxious seconds later, the Poké Ball stopped shaking and pinged to let Carmine know the Spearow was captured.

Grinning like a madman, Carmine snatched the ball off the ground and showed it to Perry, "Did you see that? First try!"

"Great job." Perry replied, giving Carmine a thumb up.

A short while later a Weedle wondered into the duo's path. Carmine shivered in disgust and Perry stepped in front of them, "Don't worry. I got this." Using his Pokédex, Perry knew that the Weedle was only level 2; he also knew that its Poison Sting had a fair chance of poisoning one of his Pokémon, and he didn't want to risk that. Taking a deep breath, Perry let his Poké Ball fly…directly into a nearby tree.

The Weedle slid off the path and Carmine stepped up next to Perry, eyebrow raised. "Hey…Perry?"

"Yeah?"

"You _were_ aiming for that Weedle, right?"

Perry nodded, "I got too excited." He rubbed his upper arm and walked over to the tree to find his lost ball.

After a few minutes of searching, Carmine tripped over it and tossed it to Perry, "Looks like you caught something after all."

"Really?" Perry clicked the ball open and after a brief flash of light, a Weedle appeared. After Perry removed his hand from his face, he recalled the Weedle and insisted they moved on before he accidentally caught another Pokémon.

"HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!" A young boy carrying a net charged out in front of Carmine, "Our eyes met! That means we battle!"

Carmine reeled back, "Whoa. Who said I wanted to battle?"

"It's in the rules! Our eyes met, we have to battle!" The boy shouted again.

"I can't decline?"

"Well…" The boy began, pushing his forefingers together. "You could…"

Carmine rolled his eyes, "Fine, let's go."

Unfortunately, Carmine's first battle wasn't as interesting as he hoped. The boy, who identified himself as Troy the Bug Catcher, only used what his 'title' implied: bugs, four of them to be exact, none of which were a match for Carmine's freshly caught Spearow. The boy didn't seem too upset about losing; especially considering two of his Pokémon appeared to not know any attacks.

"You had it easy," Perry said after the boy was out of earshot, "But the next trainer is mine."

Perry received his wish as they rounded the path, discovering a girl about their age cooing over a small blue Pokémon that Carmine's Pokédex said was a Nidoran ( ). Remembering their deal, Carmine turned to Perry and bowed, motioning for him to approach the girl. Now, Perry wasn't much like his father: he wasn't arrogant or cocky, he really had no self-confidence, and he didn't possess his penchant for purple pants.

"Uhm…" Perry approached the girl slowly, "Excuse me, would you like to battle?"

Carmine bit his tongue to keep from laughing; he could feel the heat radiating off Perry's cheeks, even ten feet away. The girl smiled sweetly and stood up, "I'd love to battle."

Perry took a few steps back and called out his first Pokémon; a Hoothoot. The girl sent the Nidoran out and despite its best attempts, it couldn't catch the owl. Carmine couldn't help but laugh while the little Pokémon jumped at Hoothoot, who simply hovered slightly left and right as it did so. A few quick pecks later and the Nidoran slumped to the ground. The 'lass' recalled it and immediately tossed out another ball which contained a Pikachu.

"Hypnosis, quick!"

"Thundershock it, Pikachu!"

The Pikachu was faster though, sparks erupting around it as a stream of electricity shot into Hoothoot. The owl cried out as it fell to the ground, but its efforts were not in vain as the Pikachu, likewise, fell over: sound asleep. Perry took this to his advantage and called out his Weedle, who proceeded to poke the Pikachu with his spike until it woke up and fell over backwards, knocked out.

"You boys play too rough!" The girl scolded them as she recalled her Pikachu. "You have to go easy on girls…" She walked through them and stormed off.

"You were right, Perry." Carmine said smiling, "That wasn't an easy battle."

With daylight to burn, they continued onwards to Pewter City…


	4. Like A Rock

After making short work of the first two trainers they encountered, the rest of Viridian Forest was a breeze for Carmine and Perry. Charmander and Spearow proved to be more than enough to defeat even the most experienced bug catchers and Perry's Weedle evolved into a Kakuna when they were ambushed by a wild one. Expecting to get lost, the boys easily found their way out of the forest and back onto Route 02 before the day grew too late. As they approached Pewter City, they agreed that they would hit the gym before nightfall and get it out of the way.

"Hi!" A friendly red-haired nurse said as the boys entered the Pewter City Pokémon Center. "My name is Nurse Joy, is there anything I can help you with?"

"We need our Pokémon healed, please." Perry said calmly and handed Nurse Joy his three Poké Balls. She turned to Carmine and took his as well, "It'll just be a few moments, feel free to make yourself comfortable in the lounge." And motioned to the area next to her, where some couches were, as well as a TV, some tables and chairs, and a long table lined with various types of food.

"If I knew there'd be food here, I wouldn't have bought those sandwiches." Carmine said with a frown.

"If you didn't buy those sandwiches, you wouldn't have made it halfway through the forest." Perry replied, laughing and reminding Carmine that he had eaten all the sandwiches on the way.

About ten minutes later, Nurse Joy returned to find the boys full and content, sitting on the couches. She happily handed over their Pokémon, "Have a wonderful day! If you have time, I heard the Pewter Museum of Science just opened. I'm sure you two would find it interesting!" She smiled and headed back to perform more nurse-related duties.

"She sure seems happy, doesn't she?" Carmine remarked, releasing Charmander and stuffing his other Poké Balls into his pockets.

Perry nodded, "You wanna go to the museum?" And then quickly added, when he saw Carmine's face, "I'm sure they have pictures of ancient legendary Pokémon…or something…"

That was all Carmine needed.

Pewter City was a pretty dull place; Carmine thought as they headed in the direction the nurse had said to go. There weren't very many people and most of them seemed content to stare aimlessly at the sky, or pace outside their homes. He wondered why this place wasn't livelier; shouldn't there be tons of trainers around, waiting to get a crack at the gym leader? He thought about posing the question to Perry, but recalled he had never been outside of Viridian and probably wouldn't know either.

The Pewter Museum of Science was a large building on Pewter City's northern city limits. Inside was different from Pewter itself however, as it was filled with people and conversation, colored dashed over every wall, paintings hung here and there, and huge sculptures dominating over everyone. Carmine whispered in amazement as they walked under a sculpture ten times his size, arcing over the entire room; its nameplate informed him it was modeled after a legendary Pokémon called 'Rayquaza'.

After exploring the main room thoroughly, they headed downstairs, which was suspiciously devoid of exhibits and people; save for one sad looking man, sitting on a stool in front of a table. They approached him and he looked up quickly and fell backwards off his chair, backing up quickly until he hit the wall. "Please! Please! I don't have any more fossils!" And he covered his face.

After exchanging confused glances, Perry approached the man, "Don't worry, we're just here to see the exhibits."

The man slowly lowered his arms, "Really? You aren't with…them?"

Perry shook his head, "Who?"

The man took a deep breath and stepped closer to Perry, whispering, "Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket?" Carmine asked loudly, despite the man's frantic motions for him to be quiet. "They've been defunct for years. The guys who have been harassing people are just thugs abusing the Rocket name."

The man scratched his head, "Really? I…I've been so busy with my research…wait, what's the date?"

Perry pulled out his Pokédex, "May 2nd."

The man looked shocked, "It's May!? Last…last time I checked, it was June!"

Carmine chuckled and shook his head, but Perry nodded, "My father gets like that sometimes, not that he cares what day it is." He shrugged. "Anyway, what happened? Did somebody steal something?"

The man frowned, "A man came here, dressed normally, but wearing a jacket. Of course, I thought it was weird, seeing as it's pretty hot outside…" He took a breath. "He unzipped it and was wearing a black shirt with a bright 'R' in the center. He claimed to be from Team Rocket and demanded I give him anything of value I had; when I refused, he…called out his Pokémon. So…I gave him the fossil I just received…"

He was visibly shaken, so Perry held up his hand, "It's okay, you can stop." The man nodded, shaking slightly. "Didn't you call the police?"

The man nodded again, "I did, but not until an hour after he got away…he could be at Mt. Moon by now."

"Don't you have any Pokémon?" Perry asked.

"Yes, but they're in the back…I always lose track of time and forget to spend some of it with them." He sighed.

"Well, that could be a start for you. Get out, get some fresh air and spend some time with your Pokémon; I'm sure you'll feel much better." Perry smiled.

"Okay…that's a good idea, thank-you for speaking with me." The man took a breath and stood up, "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to go spend some time with my Pokémon."

"You've got a way with people Perry." Carmine stated, nudging Perry.

He smiled back, "I just like helping people I guess."

"Well," Carmine began with a grin, leading the way out, "Why don't you help me go get my first badge?"


	5. Rock This Town

Carmine shielded his eyes as he looked up at the falling sun. It was starting to get late and in another hour or so, it would be dark. Luckily, the Pewter City gym wasn't far from the museum and the only variable they would have to worry about was the gym leader's presence. However, Perry informed Carmine that the Pewter City gym was considered the "first" gym by many trainers and as such, had frequent challengers making it difficult for the gym leader to escape their duties. Of course, gyms were only open for an eight hour period during the day, so it was better if they hurried.

"Carmine!" A voice called out from a small figure, rapidly approaching from the distance.

"Mikado," Carmine replied reluctantly, "I didn't expect to see you here."

Grinning widely, Mikado hopped to a stop in front of Perry, "Hi! I'm Mikado."

Perry couldn't help but smile, Mikado's attitude was infectious, "I'm Perry."

Mikado turned his attention back to Carmine, "Replacing me already? That's not cool."

"Mikado, it isn't l-"

"PFFFFT." Still smiling, Mikado shook his head, "I know, Carmine. My mom called and told me what happened."

Carmine breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you guys going to the gym leader? If you guys hurry, you should be able to catch him before the gym closes. I gotta run though, I wanna make it to Mt. Moon before dark!"

He started to run off, but stopped suddenly and grinned, "I guess I [I]will[/I] be seeing you later Carmine."

Carmine's cheeks flushed and Mikado shook his head. He stomped his foot then and proceeded to take off faster than the two had ever seen in their lives, leaving behind only a cloud of dust and a clear conscience for Carmine.

The Pewter City gym was located in, almost exactly, the center of Pewter City itself. The gym was large and bulky, shaped sort of like a boulder, which was mirrored by its inside that looked like a bright cave. Only one man stood in the gym, a tired man surrounded by rubble and dirt. He approached the duo as they made their way into the field. Carmine had no idea what to expect, he never met a gym leader before, but this guy was dressed like any other normal person. He wore baggy brown pants, a light orange sweater and didn't seem to ever open his eyes.

"Welcome to the Pewter Gym." He announced as soon as he was close enough.

"Thanks." They replied in unison.

"My name is Forrest," He said, still expressionless, "Are you both here to challenge me?" They nodded. "Alright, then we will have a double battle. You each may use one Pokémon each and I will use two."

He turned and walked away, stopping a good distance from the boys, "Whenever you are ready, call out your Pokémon and we can begin."

Perry leaned over to Carmine and whispered, "We've got this, this is a rock gym and I have a grass-type. If you use Spearow to distract his Pokémon, I can knock both of them out in no time."

Carmine nodded, "Good plan."

Red light flashed and Carmine's Spearow appeared, landing on his shoulder and cawing loudly. Another flash of light and Perry's Pokemon appeared; a small green creature that Carmine's Pokédex identified as a Bulbasaur. Forrest snapped his fingers and the rubble around him began to shake, slowly coming to life before their very eyes. Carmine's Pokédex identified the massive chain of rocks as an Onix, while the smaller levitating rock appeared to be a Geodude; both part rock and part ground.

"Spearow, don't worry about attacking, just distract them."

The Spearow hopped off Carmine's shoulder and soared towards the Onix, quickly darting away as it drew its attention. Perry grinned and looked at his Bulbasaur, "Use Vine Whip until they can't take any more buddy."

The Bulbasaur nodded in response and charged forward, skidding to a stop as the Geodude launched itself at it. With a quick flick of vines, the Geodude went rolling back across the floor, instantly KO'd. Forrest gritted his teeth, "Onix, get that Bulbasaur, forget the Spearow!"

It was futile though, as Bulbasaur's vines were already around the bulk of the Onix. Despite its tiny size, with a mighty grunt, the Onix was lifted up into the air and hurled across the gym. The building shook violently and the Onix roared in pain, but it did not get back up: the battle was over. Carmine high-fived Perry with a smile, "That's teamwork for you."

Forrest sighed, rubbing his neck as he approached the two. "I didn't expect to be beaten so quickly."

Carmine wanted to say something, but knew Forrest hadn't meant offense in his surprise. He stepped closer and held out two Boulder Badges, opening his mouth to speak, but closing it quickly and half-frowning. After taking his badge, Carmine sighed softly, hoping Forrest would hear and speak up, but when he realized he wasn't getting anywhere he decided to just ask.

"You look like something is on your mind Forrest." Though he also remarked in thought, 'it'd be easier to tell if you ever opened your eyes.

Forrest let out a sigh as well and begun to say, "Well..."

"Come on, we have places to go!" Carmine said angrily; it wasn't that he was actually angry; he was just bad at dealing with people.

"Carmine, relax." Perry said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "It's hard to ask a complete stranger for something, even if it's something small and even when you're a well-respected Gym Leader."

Forrest smiled slightly at Perry's words and took a breath, "Ever since I took over for my older brother, it just seems like it has been loss after loss after loss...after loss." He paused, looking at the duo to ensure he had their attention, "I just feel like I haven't gotten any stronger. Every day I get challengers coming through here, so I never really have time to train, and the strongest Pokémon I have I can't ever use, because they're all new trainers and I think bro hasn't come back because he's heard about how weak I've gotten..."

Carmine frowned and looked at Perry, who nodded, "You do realize you're allowed to take breaks, right, Forrest? The gym will always be here, people know where to go if they need to find you, and it's not like you're abandoning your job. You're doing something that's important to every single trainer's career; you're the stepping stone that gives every new trainer drive, to say 'hey, I got a gym badge! You know, maybe I can actually do this, maybe I can become a Pokémon Master!' Every day you are supporting someone's dream, you are helping them get a little bit further to accomplish it, you might lose a lot, but your gym is the first of eight, you aren't supposed to demolish everybody who walks your way, just provide them with a challenge."

Carmine couldn't help but be impressed, Perry certainly had a lot of spirit in him, and his speech made him think about himself and his life and career. When you really got down to it, the first gym of any trainer's career was really what set a Pokémon Master apart from an ordinary trainer. If you approached it with reckless abandon, without some foresight, you were going to get pummeled and probably give-up on the spot, but if you thought ahead, if you planned and trained beforehand, you would walk away with the first of many badges and a solid feeling in your chest that you could take on the world.

"If you feel like you haven't been training enough, if you feel like your team could use some exercise, some fun time, some time to feel alive: take it! You deserve a break now and then; all jobs have vacation time, take a vacation! Go see the Orange Islands, go visit relatives in another region, go on a cruise on the S.S. Anne, go visit a town you've never been, go catch some new Pokémon; the possibilities are only as limitless as you think they are. You can sit around in this gym collecting dust and doing your job without motivation, or you can get out there and see the world, return refreshed and full of life and give every single trainer that comes through here a run for their money."

Perry inhaled and looked as if his speech was over, while Forrest simply looked on as if a Moltres had just settled on the ground in front of him.

"I'd clap, but I think it would echo too much in here." Carmine joked, nudging Forrest and knocking him out of his stupor. He stepped forward immediately and took Perry's hand with both of his, exclaiming a thank-you so loud that it actually echoed throughout the gym, "Please, wait here!" And he turned and sprinted off towards a door leading to the back of the gym.

"That was some speech Perry." Carmine stated, "I am…impressed."

Shrugging, Perry replied, "It just came to me, it was like I was possessed for a second." He paused and smiled, "I think great-grandpa would be proud of me."

Carmine nodded, "He'd be very proud."

Perry smiled slightly, "I'll miss him a lot, he always encouraged me to go out and see the world like my dad did."

"Yeah," Carmine began, "I remember when he passed away, it was one of the few things that made my dad actually come home. My parents were really close to him too."

Before any more words could be exchanged, Forrest was running back out.

"We'll have to continue this later." Perry said, smiling softly as Forrest he reached them. After a few deep breathes, Forrest reached into his pocket and dug out two disks, handing them to Carmine and Perry, "As gym leaders, we normally give out TMs to challengers who defeat us, but I thought I should give you both something special for helping me. These TMs contain a powerful move called Stone Edge, my bro sent them to me awhile ago, but I never had much use for them, seeing how powerful the technique is. I think you two will be able to put them to better use."

Carmine and Perry both stammered thank-yous and Forrest shook both their hands, "It was a pleasure meeting both of you and Perry, thank-you again, your words have done more for me than you could imagine." Carmine smiled as Perry did, a bit of red escaping to his cheeks, "If you guys wouldn't mind, could you do me one last favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" Perry asked, still beaming.

"I know you guys are definitely going to meet him, so would you mind telling my bro, Brock, that I said 'hi' and make sure to tell him that I said he should watch out for you two."

After a quick goodbye, the duo head out of the Pewter City Gym feeling like a million Pokédollars.


End file.
